Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
the music was thumping, the people were jumping and the drinks were flowing almost freely at this point. at least for her. she knew it was probably a little shallow but there were perks to looking as good as she did, the dress she'd picked hugged everything in just the right places, the neckline dipped just a little lower than what was probably considered normal and the heels she was wearing helped her move just right. she didn't flaunt her body often but when she did, she normally didn't have to pull her wallet out for drinks. she moved with her friends on the dancefloor, having come out with some of the girls from her university course when they'd suggested it and honestly it had been a while since she'd let her hair down. with moving countries, settling in and getting herself set up in the showing world plus dealing with her courses, she'd had little time to relax. so tonight she was doing just that. she didn't have a care in the world, she didn't have anything on tomorrow so she could drink what she liked and sleep in till noon and no one would be any the wiser.
she held up her hands to her friends and excused herself from the dance floor when her feet started to hurt and she promised them she'd be back after a spell. she couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes as her friend turned and draped herself across the shoulders of the nearest guy. well that was one way to have fun. she worked her way to the edge of the dance floor and she took a breath. there were a few empty booths but she found herself distracted as she thought about going to get her drink but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted and her blood boiled at the feel of a hand that slipped lower than her back. she stepped away from the touch, turning to face the drunken idiot with too much of a goofy look on his face and her eyes flashed. "just because my ass exists, doesn't give you the right to feel it up." she almost snarled at him.
Business was booming for the first half of the night, and Derek barely had time to think as he spent his hours holding the doors - checking ID's as they were thrust in his face; far too enthusiastically by the youngsters, and with some reservations by the older generation who were clearly unsure about whether they needed the hangover tomorrow. He was one of the few bouncers that didn't offer special treatment to regulars or 'favourites' like some of the others did. He checked their ID all the same whether he'd seen them every day this week or not. He was polite and fair to everyone, which had earned him somewhat of a hard faced reputation that some rolled their eyes at, but he thought it was only right. He was here to do a job, not enjoy himself - and whilst he did like his co-workers and some of the patrons that came his way, he had to stay firm for the nights when everything turned to shit.
It was finally his turn for a break and he headed inside to grab a quick drink of water. It wasn't particularly hot out as September drew in, and the work wasn't very sweat inducing, but he was thirsty and he needed a moment. So far, he hadn't had too many rowdy fools and he'd only needed to chuck out one idiot. Of course, all that seemed to change as he reached the bar just in time to catch the angry words of a woman on his left. "just because my ass exists, doesn't give you the right to feel it up." Derek sighed. It was a heavy sound as he put up an index finger to the barwoman who was about to hand him his cold water - they were good, they already had one ready for him, knowing his habits. He needed to address this first, it wasn't something he could ignore just because he was on break. But just for once, he would have liked to not need to grab someone by the scruff and chuck them out. His eyes sought out the victim and culprit, locating both easily enough in the swell as he placed a hard look on the fool who'd tried it. "Is there any trouble here?" He asked, giving the moron a chance to think about his actions and whether he was going to respect the women in the club or not.
it seemed that handsy was also a little cocky. because the grin that crossed his face made it clear to her that he did think he could grab women and just get away with it. she frowned, feeling everything in her start to despise this sleaze bag even more than she had a moment ago. it seemed her warning wasn't enough to deter him because he was either stupid enough or drunk enough to be one of those men that thought no was really an invitation to try again because the next thing she knew he was taking a step towards her. she took a step back and held a hand up to him. "are you deaf, stupid or both?" she said, her voice firm but she was actually a little worried about this guys intentions. it was then she stepped back into what felt like a brick wall and she jumped a little, shifting to the side slightly as he heard a deeper voice than hers address the town idiot. she folded her arms and fixed the dope with a hard glare as she stood to the side of her rescuer, and without meaning to just a little behind him because while she could fight her own battles she wasn't stupid enough to try and fight one she really couldn't win.
for a second it seemed like he was going to try and push his luck with the bouncer too and while she'd have been delighted to see him be put in his place with a well used fist, she was disappointed when the idiot just blew a raspberry at her before he seemed to skulk off back to the dancefloor, no doubt hoping to run into a women who didn't have attitude or a right place right time protector. she looked back at the guy who had saved him and instead of her usual assurance she could have handled it herself she was a little taken back by the sight she was. no wonder she'd felt like she'd walked into a wall. she'd love to get her hands all over him, to explore just how hard everything was and with a face like that she didn't know how he was working here and didn't have every girl in the place throwing themselves at him. "thanks for that." she breathed out a little as she pushed a hand through her hair gently, careful not to mess it up but enough to ruffle it softly. "he was clearly another unevolved neanderthal who can't take no for an answer."
He watched the guy with a hard expression, pressing his lips into a firm line. It looked like he was going to argue, and Derek sighed internally. Whilst some bouncers enjoyed it, liked the chance to flex their muscles and fling out the morons - and whilst he did get satisfaction out of keeping the peace at the place, but he didn't particularly enjoy it. He made a point of raising his chin a little and shifting his shoulders back, a warning that he didn't want to do play with Derek. His expression didn't change however, as the guy made to move away. As he came past, Derek reached out a hand and grabbed his arm - firmly. "You pull any more shit, and you'll not only be out on your ass, you'll be barred." He said quietly, his eyes like ice as he made sure is comment hit home. Then he released him and watched him head off to the dance floor with a slight narrowing of his eyes. He had no doubt the guy would be getting barred by the end of the night.
Once the guy had been - temporarily at least - chased away, his attention turned to the young woman who had been having the trouble. It wasn't generally his job to check on them, his job was done the second the fight or trouble had been broken up, but he liked to make sure the victim was alright and felt safe before he moved along. His job aside, he did not stand for abuse or harassment in anyway, whichever way it went. "thanks for that." He gave her a small smile, and a nod, "It's my job," He said, though not unkindly. "But you're welcome," He added, before she could think him rude. "he was clearly another unevolved neanderthal who can't take no for an answer." Derek gave a nod at that and another small smile. "Unfortunately, these places are somewhat full of them - be careful out there."
for one moment roxy was convinced that the neanderthal would throw a punch at her rescuer. even she could tell, through the slightly tipsy haze that was starting to creep across her brain that it was a bad idea. there was something intimidating about him and roxy had a feeling that not many people would mess with him, while they were sober at least. drunk however was a whole different ball game. she should have stepped back, stepped away in case they came to blows but she couldn't help but feel even if they did there wasn't a chance in hell it would come anywhere close to her, even though she was only about three feet from both of them. she reached her hand up to rest it against her neck lightly, her eyes still trained on both of the men before her.
though any drama was avoided by brains working over testosterone and she couldn't help but feel some of the tension leave her shoulders as stupid walked away from them. as much as she was sure she could have aimed one well placed knee to his nuts, she wasn't an idiot. she could easily be overpowered, though she never planned on saying that out loud and as tough a face as she tried to put on she'd been a little worried about what he'd have tried to do had no one been paying any attention. "it might be, but not many bouncers actually seem to care." she said with a confident smile crossing her face once more as she dropped her hand from her neck to rest it lightly on her hip.
"it makes it hard when one just wants a night of dancing, drinks and fun." there was a thing as too much fun and then there were types of fun she wanted nothing to do with, she wasn't exactly straight laced but there was a hell of a lot she wouldn't do or get into. besides, public image had been drilled into her from the moment she'd been born and it was a little hard to break the habit sometimes, as often as she tried to do. "can i thank you with a drink?" she asked, motioning over to the bar as she looked back at him and resisted the urge to lick her lips as she drank him in, subtly she hoped.
Though he'd never particularly enjoyed the boxing, it had been more of a blessing than a curse. He had gotten into some of it competitively, but it was more the use of it in real-life scenario's that he appreciated. It had made him quick off the mark, and able to act on instinct when threatened - not just offensively either, but he was fast to duck a punch on reflex, and quick to protect his face when a fist came his way. Quick also, to strike back when needed. Luckily not in this scenario, and it was times like this he loved and hated the job. He liked protecting people, especially women- they came to dance and enjoy themselves, they had a right to feel safe and protected, secure in this place to do whatever they wanted to feel free. He enjoyed being able to help with that. He also hated it because of the people he met. The assholes, the dickheads, full of testosterone and unchecked ego - morons!
"it might be, but not many bouncers actually seem to care." He frowned slightly at that, wondering briefly which clubs she'd been in that the bouncers weren't doing their job. He had known some to be overkill, who would toss out anyone who so much as looked at them wrong, but he liked to think they took their job seriously given the reasons for needing a bouncer in the first place. "Well, I do." He responded, unable to wipe the frown just yet. They all did here, he had known the other guys for a while now and he had no trouble trusting any of them to do the job properly. It was one of the reasons he had stuck to this job for so long, it wasn't just decent money and alright hours but the staff were good and gave a shit, even on their bad nights, and the management was fair.
"it makes it hard when one just wants a night of dancing, drinks and fun." His frown changed for a moment into a quick smile, despite how his eyes flicked to the crowd every once in a while to check everyone was behaving; within reason. "I'm sure there's still plenty of time for that left," He reassured her, hoping her night wasn't a complete ruin from the one idiot. "can i thank you with a drink?" He hesitated, he was on the job and he didn't drink on the job - ever - though it was tempting when a woman looked at him like that. He checked his watch, he still have a fair five or ten minutes left of break, it was probably time enough for a conversation at least. "I'll take a coke, thanks." He said as he leant his tall frame against the bar, already knowing that when the girls saw him they'd just hand the soft drink over to him for free anyway and the woman wouldn't have to pay a dime. "What's your name?" Manners first after all, he couldn't just call her 'woman.'
she wasn't sure what it was but she believed him when he said he cared about the job he did and the people he was there to keep an eye on. she'd never been scared to be in pubs and nightclubs before but there had certainly been times she hadn't felt safe and had stuck close to the people she'd been out with, especially when she'd been back home. the more alcohol people drunk the better it seemed, regardless of what that alcohol caused them to do or what happened after it had been drunk. money was the aim, not letting the people in the place have a good time. so long as the drinks flowed, they were happy and a few drunks, thugs and injuries along the way weren't much of a problem for them.
she smiled, a slightly wicked smile as she agreed with him. there was still much time for fun to be had and the night was still young and while she was currently deciding whether to flirt with tall dark and handsome in front of her, there were plenty of people in here to keep her occupied for the next few hours. it wasn't often she had trouble finding people to entertain her for a while, what she struggled with was keeping them interested long enough to keep playing with. "oh i have no doubt, now that handsy has been put in his place." she glanced to where he'd sulked off into the crowd and she hoped she'd not have to look at him again for the rest of the night.
her smile sweetened a little as he agreed to have a drink with her as thanks and she stepped across to the bar, settling herself into one of the free stools next to where he leaned against the bar. she couldn't help but notice how well the shirt he was wearing was filled out and she took the time to drink in the sight before she swiveled the stool to ask one of the bartenders for his soft drink and a glass of wine for herself. she could drink the hard stuff with the best of them but tonight wasn't a night for that, at least not yet. she looked back at him when he asked what her name was and she tucked crossed one leg over the other, feeling the hem of her dress slide up her thigh a little as she did and she held her hand out to him. "roxy wood."
He caught the smile and made the -correct- assumption that she agreed. Some people made assumptions about him; that he was too serious for fun, too grumpy to know how to entertain himself let alone other people. He did though, he had a sweeter side between the rough and tough exterior - the walls of concrete and iron. He didn't show it often, it took a lot to weedle it out of him, but that was fair enough in his opinion. It meant when Derek laughed, it was always genuine, or when he smiled it was because he wanted to, not because it was put on to make someone feel better. He couldn't help having a bitter and sour outlook on the world, given his history, but he did have surprisingly sweet dreams for the future. "oh i have no doubt, now that handsy has been put in his place." Derek watched her glance into the crowd and looked out again, spotting the guy with a darkening of his expression; he was good at finding people, he had to be in order to do his job well. "He won't bother you again," He promised - because one single peep out of the fool, even if it was to someone else, Derek would know and the kid would be out of his ass because he could even spell the word.
Derek could feel her eyes on him, and he hid the smirk that threatened, keeping his own gaze toward the bartenders instead, allowing her to take in her fill. He wasn't generally into mixing pleasure with work, he was very good at separating the flirtatious from his job at the door - because it happened surprisingly frequently. He was always polite with it, and friendly enough; but firm. Work was work, not play. He did like to destress every now and then, have a flirt with someone, maybe more than if the mood hit him, but rarely did he do that at the place he worked, and in all honesty, he preferred a relationship to a one nighter. But what did it hurt for his ego to be stroked a little by a gorgeous woman.
He let her ask for the drinks, not wanting to take over considering she had asked him. Her leg movement drew the eye, as she knew it would, and he couldn't help himself but play fool to the damn trick, drinking in the sleek skin of her thigh. Damn, women knew how to play it. He quickly looked away, he wasn't the kind of guy to oogle - unlike some, he liked to talk to a woman's face. "roxy wood." Another smile as he nodded, committing the name to memory. "Nice to meet you Roxy, I'm Derek." He didn't feel the need to tack on his surname for now - something told him she was used to saying her full name however. "Are you a business woman?" He asked, because that shark-like confidence had to come from somewhere.
